Literacy Now

One of the favorite children’s authors of every generation, Dr. Seuss authored 66 books in all, and only four of these were in prose. Dr. Seuss was a wonderful illustrator and poet with a heart for rhythm (which he acquired from his mother) and a prodigious imagination which helped him create wonderful books for children. He invented animals (the Dawf, the Kweet, Wogs [Scrambled Eggs Super, 1953]), alphabets (On Beyond Zebra, 1955), and rhythms that keep his books fresh and alive even today. There are plenty more fascinating facts to be found at the Dr. Suess official website.

This week, the International Reading Association's Children’s Literature Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) presents reviews of selected new books that are inspired by Dr. Seuss. The titles are imaginative, creative, and rhythmic. Their effervescent energies are certain to inspire the child in you to get dancing or dreaming!

Grades K-3

Byous, Shawn. (2014). Because I stubbed my toe. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Young Readers.

If your students need a smile, this is a great book to read. The story, narrated in first person, opens as a young boy stubs his toe. The impact of his toe shook the chair noisily and scared the dog. The dog scared the cat and the cat jumped out of the window. It landed on the head of girl, who dropped her ice cream cone that caused a biker to slide off the sidewalk and into a hive of bees. The bees attacked an old man who jumped into the pond. The splash surprised a woman, who tripped on a teeter-tooter. One unfortunate child got tossed high into the air and luckily landed on a crowded bouncy house. It sent the kids running and screaming straight into the zoo. It scared the elephants out of their cages and they were soon trampling down the street, and knocked over an ice cream truck. And guess whose window was open to grab the ice cream? A hilarious book, sure to get kids giggling!-

-Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

Ering, T. B. (2014). The almost fearless Hamilton SquidLegger. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

If you want to engage your students in making up words and gently introduce them to the art of exploring the world on their own, this book is a great aide. During daylight hours, Hamilton has no problem slaying all the frackensnappers, skelecragons, or bracklesneeds in the swamp where he lives. However, at sundown, Hamilton has to escape into his secret hideaway!

That is until his father tempts him with his absolute favorite treat—a double-decker grasshopper worm-cake, with a snake-belly frosting. Hamilton had to stay in his mud all through the night to win it. At night, there is another downpour in the swamp, but Hamilton, shivering and nervous, stays in this mud. In an elaborate dream sequence, brilliantly illustrated, Hamilton meets other creatures, who take him on a ride over the ocean, an airship from where Hamilton can see the whole world—mountains, forests, animals, meadows, oceans, and rainbows! Excited and tired, Hamilton is ready for bed. And all his friends brush up and huddle to hear Hamilton’s dad read to them. Soon, they all sleep in their own mud, fearless at last!

-Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

Hoberman, Mary Ann. (2014). You read to me, I’ll read to you: Very short tall tales to read together. Illus. by Michael Emberley. New York, NY: Little, Brown & Company.

Celebrating Dr. Seuss would be incomplete without the inclusion of the work of past Children’s Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman. The thirteen short stories in this volume retell stories of America’s heroes and heroines. Their deeds are amazing and larger than life.

The book presents the tall tales of Annie Oakley, Davy Crockett, John Henry, Slue-Foot Sue, Mike Fink, Casey Jones, Don-Jose Love-mad Lopez, Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and many more in rhymes. The rhymes are meant for two voices, each portion indicated in different color. The rhymes present great opportunities for young students to practice early reading theatre activities, and even put up plays based on these rhymes. The characters presented are of various nationalities that settled the United States during the pioneer era, although there is a paucity of Native American and Asian characters in this volume. This is a wonderful volume for English language learners to practice their reading skills.

-Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

Kennedy, Anne Vittur. (2014). The farmer’s away! Baa! Neigh! Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

The happy hours for the barnyard animals begin when the farmer leaves. They go rafting and picnicking, ride on a roller-coaster and a hot air balloon, and dance on the meadow during the sunset while everyone is dressed up. The dog’s cry, the signal to indicate farmer’s return, seems just like the striking sound of a clock for Cinderella. It reminds the animals to return to reality and they rush and dash back to the barnyard where they are supposed to be. Everything is like what it used to be.

The story primarily relies on the illustrations of the happy anthropomorphized animals to tell the story, while all written text is composed of onomatopoeia. The endpapers show the animal-sound index with which readers can consult. By following the animal rhymes, readers will enjoy the rhythmic lines!

-Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Levy, Janice. (2014). Thomas the Toadilly Terrible bully. Illus. by Bill Slavin and Esperança. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

Moving to a new town, Thomas the Toad is craving attention. He dresses up to impress and acts as a bully in a hope of getting everyone’s eyes on him. However, no one cares because he isn’t scary and mean enough. When Gomer arrives, Thomas thinks that he has found a target he can bully. After making Gomer cry, Thomas feels guilty for what he’s done. However Gomer has bigger problems. He confesses that he has a bigger, stronger, and fiercer bully chasing after him. Thomas decides to help Gomer fight back against the bully. This story reminds readers that there are better ways to make friends instead of being a bully. Show your big heart and lend a hand to someone in need.

-Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Morris, Richard, T. (2014). This is a moose. Illus. by Tom Lichtenheld. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

An animal crew is filming the life of Mighty Moose, who wants to be an astronaut in the wood by the riverside. As the leading actor, Mighty Moose is always ready to fly to the moon in his space suit, but Duck (the director) asks the animal actors to behave like animals. Ignoring director Duck’s request, the animal crew launch Mighty Moose safely in outer space, and then the whole filming team follows Mighty Moose to space to shoot the movie there.

This is a humorous and hilarious story with anthropomorphized animal narrators and actors. The two-page, colorful illustrations created in ink, pencil, and gouache vividly capture the motion of animals with the use of movement lines, which is also featured in Dr. Seuss’s illustrations, to provide visual effect. The pleasure of reading this book is augmented by the endpapers and a glossary of filmmaking terms introduced in the book.

-Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Parenteau, Shirley. (2014). Bears in the bath. Illus. by David Walker. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Although dusty, muddy, sweaty and stinky, the four little bears don’t want to take a bath! Getting dirty after a wrestle with four little bears, Big Brown Bear decides to jump in the tub first! Splish, Splash, Sploosh! How happy he is! Tempted by the big bear, four little bears finally hop into the tub and have a fun moment with bubbles and giggles.

The furry bear illustrations with warm colors invite young readers to read about an experience that many of them may share in their daily routine. The text is meant to be read aloud. The reverberating sound of the words adds to the joy of reading this story!

-Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Rissman, Rebecca. (2014). A dog’s day. Illus. by Becka Moor. Chicago, IL: Raintree.

Introducing young readers to point of view is difficult. In this lovely, upside-down book, the readers read the story from the perspective of Rusty the dog and Rosie the girl, who walks and plays with him every day. Rusty, without his leash and owner, decides to walk into the stores and jumps into the fountain in the town square. He is surprised and sad when nobody welcomes him. Sometime later, Rusty realizes that he is hungry and lost when he hears a familiar voice calling his name. At this point in the story, Rosy and Rusty meet and the reader must flip over the book to read Rosie’s part of the story.

The book is a great way to introduce characters and POV. The storyline is really simple and even the youngest readers can actually ‘see’ where the characters meet and the two strands ‘twine.’ This is a great book for the youngest readers.

-Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

Spires, Ashley. (2014). The most magnificent thing. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.

In this story, a little girl decides that she will make the most magnificent thing in the world. She gathers few things and puts them together with the help of her pet dog. She knows how it will look, and she also knows how it will work. Easy-peasy! However, things are not the same when she starts working on the project.

It is not as magnificent as she wanted, it is not good, and it does not even work! She tries hard to make it better—change the shape, give it legs, maybe the antennae would do the trick, or maybe make it fuzzy. They are all different, but not magnificent. Her assistant helps her cool off her anger with a walk. And she comes back to create the most magnificent thing ever! Young readers will love the surprise ending. Readers learn that not everything comes out “just the right way” instantly.

-Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

These reviews and resources are submitted by members of the International Reading Association’s Children’s Literature and Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online.

The CL/R SIG will host a special session entitled Children's Literature: The Perfect Teachable Moment on Saturday, May 10 at 3:00 p.m. at the International Reading Association 59th Annual Conference in New Orleans. The session celebrates award-winning children's and young adult books and authors. Author Nancy Bo Flood is the keynote session speaker. Her work encompasses more than a dozen books. Her recent historical fiction "Warriors in the Crossfire" is set in Saipan during WWII, and was selected on the 2011 Notable Books for a Global Society (NBGS) list. The NBGS list represents selections and authors from all genres K-12, with a focus on understanding of and appreciation for the world's full range of diverse cultures, ethnic, and racial groups. The session will also include presentation of the 2014 Notable Books for a Global Society (NBGS) list by members of the selection committee. Visit http://www.iraconference.org to learn more about IRA 2014 or to register. 

“The power to question is the basis of all human progress.”
                                                -Indira Ghandi                  

When I ask a room full of 5-and 6-year-olds if they have any questions, I hear all sorts of funny stories and interesting comments—some having to do with the topic I have been sharing with them, but most are completely unrelated. They haven’t yet learned the art of questioning. But they will, right?

What do you think happens when I ask a room full of adults the same question? Do hands excitedly shoot up, vying to be picked so their brilliant, bountiful questions will be answered and they will learn something new, something they didn’t know? Not exactly.

I recently asked a group of teachers standing in front of an assembly of students if they had any questions and the only bountiful thing in the room was my embarrassment when none of them had a question for me. What did I do wrong? Had I not stirred their imaginations and curiosity enough to illicit a question from any of them?
Some of you may be thinking:

• I put them on the spot and they are not quick-on-their-feet thinkers.
• My presentation was fascinating and thorough and I had answered all of their questions.
• My presentation was long and boring and they wanted to get the heck out of there.

Yes, it could have been any of those things (though I really hope it wasn’t the latter) but lately I have been wondering—where did all the questions go? What‘s happened to our sense of fascination and curiosity? Are we teaching questioning skills in school? Are we able to formulate and ask insightful questions ourselves? What are we afraid of? That our questions won’t be cool? That, contrary to what we’ve been told, there really are stupid questions?

The truth is, I rarely ask for questions anymore. The silent stares I get in return have left me “question shy.” There are some questions that I can count on - “How old are you?” and “Are you rich?” I understand that these questions satisfy a natural curiosity. But we all know that these are not the thick, meaty questions that we long for. They are not thought-provoking, insightful, authentic “let me think about that for awhile,” questions. Occasionally, I receive a few that fit that description. Some of the really good ones I am still pondering.

That’s what a good question does: It makes you think and wonder and ponder. But maybe that’s part of the problem. Perhaps we are uncomfortable engaging in deeper and more complex questioning.  Or are we just too busy - in our schools, homes, and lives - to step back and question anything?

We need to give our children and ourselves the time, security, and support to question.  As Albert Einstein put it, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

Don’t stop questioning. And please, continue teaching children the art and skill of questioning. We need more inquisitiveness in the world, don’t you agree? More “what ifs” and “why nots.” Questions that require more than a one- or two-word answer.

In my line of work asking questions has played an important role. Many of my books started with a question:       

• Grady the Goose: “Why do geese fly the way they do?”
• Someday is Not a Day of the Week:“Why are there seven days in a week? And what would happen if we had an eighth day?”
• My Momma Likes to Say: “Remember all the funny things Mom used to say?”

And my very first book, Buzzy the Bumblebee got its wings when I learned that scientific studies pointed out that bumble bees are not equipped to fly. “It’s a good thing bumblebees don’t know that!” I thought, which lead to the question, “But what would happen if they did?”

My newest book, Teach Me to Love also began with a question: What are we teaching our children? In the story, baby animals learn to run and climb and hop and swing, and ultimately, to love. I can’t help but think about a Teach Me sequel. And as I do, I find myself asking, “How can we better teach our kids to wonder, inquire, probe, search, seek, study, explore, analyze, examine, question?

Now there’s a question worth pondering.

Come see Denise Brennan-Nelson at IRA's 59th Annual Conference. She will be signing Maestro Stu Saves the Zoo in the Sleeping Bear Press booth (#1446) on Sunday, May 11.

Denise Brennan-Nelson has written several books for children, including He’s Been a Monster All Day!, Maestro Stu Saves the Zoo, and My Teacher Likes to Say. As a national speaker, she encourages adults and children to tap into their imaginations to create richer, fuller lives. She also travels the country sharing her reading and writing enthusiasm with schoolchildren and teachers. Denise, who lives in Howell, MI, with her husband, Bob, and their two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel, strives to spend each day teaching and learning with a creative spirit. Find out more about Denise.  

Of all the books I’ve written, the one used most often as a springboard for classroom learning projects is The Lemonade War, the first in a series of middle-grade novels. In the book, Evan and Jessie get into a fight about who can sell the most lemonade in the five days before school begins. It’s a story of sibling rivalry, competition, and conflict resolution. And math. And business. After all, how could you write a story about competing lemonade stands without including math and business?

Indeed, the math/business angle is one of the things that sets the book apart, and one of the comments I hear most often from teachers is that they love the way math and business concepts are integrated into the story.

Well, the truth is, I never even thought about that “angle” when I was writing the book. I was just tapping into who I was as an elementary school kid: When I was a kid, I loved money. I loved earning it, counting it, saving it, (occasionally) spending it, and sometimes even giving it away. I started babysitting when I was ten and making crafty stuff that I could sell in the local consignment shop when I was twelve. By the time I was fourteen, I had a regular eight-hour-a-week paycheck job (at the local library, of course!). I was my own “business.” And business required math skills.

So when I wrote about Jessie’s love of graphs and Evan’s triumph in solving a math problem using pictures, I wasn’t doing it to provide a teaching moment in the book. It just felt true to the characters and the story I was telling.

But I will say here and now that I’m thrilled the book has found this dual purpose. The Lemonade War has been embraced as a One School, One Book offering, and so the classroom learning projects for the book often span grades K–6. Here are just a few of the ways in which smart, energizing teachers are using The Lemonade War to get their kids excited about math and business.

Gross Profit vs. Net Profit​

A fundamental business concept is the difference between gross profit and net profit. The money you take from your customers isn’t what you “earn,” because you have to subtract the cost of doing business. This is a concept that is reinforced throughout the book as both Evan and Jessie struggle to increase their profit margins.

At first, all the lemonade supplies are “donated” by Mrs. Treski, and so gross profit equals net profit. But from that point on, the kids need to buy their own supplies (for example, lemonade mix and cups). It’s a sad moment when Jessie realizes in Chapter 8 that in order to win The Lemonade War, she would need to sell 375 cups of lemonade. “I am DOOMED!!” she writes.

Figuring gross profit, net profit, and profit margin involves addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, and percentages. Needless to say, kids are a lot more engaged in doing this math work when it involves their own lemonade war—and that’s what many schools do.

Rebecca Lynn Bowling used The Lemonade War when she was a fourth-grade teacher at Mullins School in Pikeville, Kentucky. “We decided to have a real-life Lemonade War,” explains Bowling, with classrooms competing against each other to see who could sell the most lemonade in one day. Each classroom wrote up a business plan for their lemonade stand, created advertising, and then came to school ready to sell. On the day of the war, the students assigned to work the lemonade stand “came dressed alike in matching attire. It was awesome!” In addition to calculations of profit margins, the project required the students to practice problem-solving, inferring, predicting, evaluating, and summarizing.

It’s also possible to launch a “virtual” Lemonade War, which is the approach taken by Mandy Marlo, a sixth-grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Marlo explains, “Our sixth-grade social studies classes used an interactive lemonade stand website to explore supply and demand.”

Each student started the month with three dollars and ran the virtual lemonade stand for 30 days. Every day, the website would give the student a weather report, that day’s cost-per-glass for making lemonade, and the opportunity to buy advertising. The student then entered how may glasses of lemonade he or she wanted to make that day, and the website would generate that day’s profit/loss. The students charted their results using the following organizer.

Marlo taught the students “trade and economics” vocabulary words and required the students to use these terms in a written reflection that asked questions like, “How did you know what you needed? How did you decide how much to spend? Were you satisfied with your results? How would you improve your lemonade stand?”

In addition, Marlo’s school helped create excitement for all aspects of the learning project by having a kick-off event that included an assembly for the whole school and a skit featuring teachers operating competing lemonade stands and vying for one particular customer by using business concepts described in the book.

Writing a Business Plan​

The concept of “planning” has applications throughout life. In business, it’s particularly important.

Diane Smaracko, a fourth-grade teacher at Rye Elementary School in Rye, New Hampshire, connects the book with math and business skills when she teaches a unit on regions and their economies. “We make the connection to economics by reading different passages about businesses and profits.” Then she gets the kids thinking about how to plan a successful business by engaging in the following activities:

• Brainstorm a list of things you would need to have for a lemonade stand.
  In Chapter 2, Evan and Scott Spencer gather all the things they need for a lemonade stand.
• Design a lemonade sign.
  In Chapter 3, Jessie and Megan design a sign to sell lemonade.
• Think of two ways to add value to your lemonade stand.
  In Chapter 6, Jessie and Megan figure out “value-added” strategies to boost sales.
• Look up the word “franchise” in the dictionary and copy the definition.
  In Chapter 8, Jessie and Megan launch thirteen franchises to maximize their earnings.

Likewise, Rebecca Bowling had her fourth-grade classes create business plans for their lemonade stands after reading the book. “Each classroom team had to come up with a business name, what kind of lemonade they wanted to sell, how much they wanted to sell, and how many containers of lemonade and cups to purchase. Students had to figure out how many cups would be used for one container of lemonade. They had to come up with a fair price for large cups and small cups. The also had to come up with ‘added value’ to their lemonade by offering cute straws, cookies, cupcakes, suckers ...”

In Estes Park, Colorado, the students at Estes Park Elementary School created class stores. Fifth-grade teacher Erin Leonhardt recalls, “We made a business plan. Students created displays (like the science fair tri-folds) that advertised and set a price point. They sold items like duct tape wallets, used books, and crafts. Students went shopping with ‘kid money’ that they earned in class.” An extra lesson in economics was added by an all-too-common classroom challenge: running out of time! “When we ran out of time, [the students] either dropped prices or raised them for supply and demand. I really think they got a lot out of it.”

Advertising

Perhaps the most common activity at all the schools was creating a poster to advertise a business or product. Marketing is an important plot element in The Lemonade War, with the characters creating signs for their businesses. Likewise, students in the schools had a lot of fun considering the principles of advertising and putting those principles to use.

As Diane Smaracko notes, “Great advertising keeps the products on the consumer’s mind.” She asks her students to think about how advertisers do this. Then the students design their own lemonade signs. “The children love designing their own lemonade stands and posters and figuring out ways to attract customers,” says Smaracko.

At Mullins School in Kentucky, Rebecca Bowling found the same enthusiasm for this activity. “The students designed posters advertising their lemonade stands and displayed them throughout the school. It was wonderful how they discussed the slogans they wanted to use on their posters!”

In Chagrin Falls, Mandy Marlo had her sixth-grade students create an advertisement for the lemonade stand that would benefit their sister school in Cleveland. She encouraged kids to “include anything that you think would help increase your business.” Kids responded by describing the lemonade, pointing out the affordability of the drink, using colorful and eye-catching graphics, and encouraging patrons to buy because the proceeds would benefit charity.

Charts and Graphs

In Chapter 8 of the book, Jessie realizes she might actually win the Lemonade War if she opens several franchises. The power of her plan becomes apparent when she creates a graph of potential earnings.

Mandy Marlo had her students chart data from the interactive lemonade stand website. Rebecca Bowling had her students create bar graphs to identify their favorite kinds of lemonade. Pie charts can be used to understand the relative costs of various supplies needed to run a lemonade stand. Line graphs and bar graphs work well to show profit and loss. In fact, the number of ways that charts and graphs can be used in the classroom to compare business practices is almost limitless.

The Final Connection​

As Jacob Marley exclaimed in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, “Business! Mankind was my business!” And so it seems to be at each school that the question of what to do with money earned often leads the students back to this principle: “The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business.”

Students in schools across the country chose to give all or some of their profits to a variety of charities: a local animal shelter (as Jessie does in The Lemonade War), a sister school in need of books for their library, a local food bank. Many schools also donate their lemonade money to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping fund research to end childhood cancer.

ALSF is an organization that I’ve worked with for several years. Each year, they run the Great Lemonade War Contest with the Grand Prize being a visit from Yours Truly to the winning school. It’s always wonderful to visit the schools and hear about how they used the book to learn about math and business and give back to the community.

Come see Jacqueline Davies co-present "Close Reading of Trade Books: Developing Thoughtful, Curious Readers Using Novels in the Elementary Classroom" with Carol Jago at IRA’s 59th Annual Conference, May 9-12, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

My superintendent recently asked me why I needed to go to New Orleans, so I prepared something for him and for all of you who are still on the fence about going to New Orleans. 

Top 10 Reasons to Go to the International Reading Association Conference in New Orleans:

Rafe Esquith


Gail Boushey and Joan Moser


Mary Pope Osborne

1. I am a “PROFESSIONAL.” As a professional elementary teacher, it is important for me to know the latest research and trends to better help me teach my students. I have learned so much from my attendance at the conference that I can share with my fellow teachers. I’ve brought back with me tons of ideas to share and books I have purchased or gotten free. The school needs to support a teacher willing to take time for their professional growth.
2. General Session speakers are very motivational. I am looking forward to hearing Rafe Esquith (who was dubbed by Washington Post as “the World’s Most Famous Teacher”), authors Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid series) and Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants series), and literacy researcher P. David Pearson.
3. Featured Speakers—The two “Daily Five” sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser are back. Yeah! I always enjoy listing to MaryEllen Vogt (English Language Learners), and Timothy Rasinski (reading strategies).
4. Teaching Edge workshops with Debbie Diller (literacy work stations), Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey (Close Reading and Writing), and Kelly Gallagher (“Teaching Students to Read Like Writers”).
5. The Exhibit Hall—It takes me at least a half a day and many short trips to go through the Exhibit Hall, talk to vendors, get as many samples as I want, and sign up for door prizes and samples. Free books are abundant. Authors autographing my favorite books is a must. Mini-workshops are available on various subjects by the top vendor presenters. Demonstrations are going on for new technology. I love to talk to the spokespeople that publish the texts I use to find out what is new and how to better teach the material.
6. Workshops, institutes, symposiums, and poster sessions—My fellow Advisory Committee of Teachers (ACT) members will be presenting a workshop on Saturday, May 10. Stop by for a meet and greet, learn what we are doing in our classrooms, and find out what ACT is all about. There are lots of other sessions on any and all subjects. I want to go to some on technology. Use the iPlanner (a great tool) and plan your day accordingly.
7. Meeting lots of teachers from all over the globe. I got to meet my good friend and fellow ACT member from Kenya, Africa, Margaret Muthiga.
8. Come on, it’s New Orleans! I want to taste beignets, po-boys, and maybe (NOT!) gumbo and crawfish. I want to go on a swamp tour, a tour of the cemetery, and see what the French Quarter is all about.
9. Author luncheon—I am going to listen to one of my favorite authors, Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House series). I remember turning my second grade students on to her books. Boy, were they excited!
10. Summer of 2015 and the next International Reading Association Conference in St. Louis. It is summer, and I won’t be missing any school. We are planning and packing a big van with lots of teachers and road tripping to St. Louis.

The International Reading Association 59th Annual Conference will be held Friday, May 9 through Monday, May 12, 2014 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Visit www.iraconference.org for conference details or to register. 

Mary Lou Benesch, a member of the Advisory Committee of Teachers, is a Title 1 teacher at Howells-Dodge Consolidated Schools. She is past president of the Nebraska State Reading Association, and currently serves as president for her local, East Central Nebraska Reading Council, mbenesch@esu7.org. 

Teaching in ACTion is a series from the Advisory Committee of Teachers (ACT), an International Reading Association committee comprised of exemplary reading and literacy teachers from around the world. Educators who best exemplify the mission of IRA are chosen from a pool of applicants to serve a three-year term. Among other responsibilities, the main charge of ACT is to be the conduit between IRA’s members and the board of directors. 

ACT invites member to engage in the conversation by sending responses to us. ACT’s goal is to get a feel for how members feel about current hot topics, so that we may better serve members by sharing their concerns with the board of directors. 

Accommodations...I’m in favor if they support developing the skill of all readers in a class. However, as I visit middle schools and talk to teachers around the country, I notice that in the era of the Common Core, dozens of districts have returned to one book for all. Since one book or one anthology won’t meet students’ range of instructional needs, teachers accommodate instruction to meet district requirements. They often read the text aloud to a group or the entire class.

p: Enokson via photopin

The result is that developing readers who need to read to improve their skill aren’t reading during instructional time, while advanced readers aren’t challenged to read complex texts at their instructional levels. Moreover, many students don’t absorb information from teachers reading aloud because they aren’t listening. However, there is a teaching strategy that can meet the instructional reading needs of middle school students even if teachers have forty-two or forty-five minute classes: differentiating instruction.

Differentiation asks teachers to meet students’ instructional needs by providing texts at a variety of reading levels. Equally important, differentiation allows students to choose instructional and independent reading texts, and choice motivates and engages them. To facilitate differentiation, organize instructional reading units around a genre to meet your students’ reading needs. By looking at what happened in a seventh grade inclusion class, you can better understand how the teacher and I restructured instruction.

In September, students in that class had instructional reading levels from 3.0 to 11.0. Required to deliver selections from the grade-level anthology, the teacher read the selections out loud to the majority of students. After debriefing with the teacher, we developed these accommodations:

• the anthology became the anchor text, and the teacher and I used it to think aloud and model reading strategies in brief mini-lessons;
• we raided the school, public, and classroom libraries to find enough books within the anchor text’s genre to offer all students choices;
• we provided several books within each instructional level and students chose one;
• instructional books and materials remained at school and students read, discussed, and wrote about these texts for 25 to 30 minutes three to four times a week; and
• students completed independent reading once or twice a week, after finishing instructional reading tasks and at home.

As students read, the teacher and I circulated among them to hold brief conferences. After students completed the first two chapters, we conferred with each one to check recall and comprehension. If recall was shaky, we invited students to reread the first chapter during class and met with them again. When there was limited recall and comprehension among a few students, we honored their efforts and suggested they try the book later. Then, we offered a student three to four alternate books to browse through and select one. Doing this by the end of the second chapter allowed students to meet reading deadlines we negotiated with them.

In addition to mini conferences, we invited students in that inclusion class to discuss their books with a partner after reading two to three chapters. Once we used the anchor text to model a journaling technique, students composed journal entries on inferring, vocabulary, theme, or why characters changed or made certain decisions. Students also enjoyed discussing their books on a class blog and an online literature circle. Along with instructional reading that moved seventh graders in the inclusion class forward, we emphasized independent reading.

By having students self-select and read forty-to-sixty books at their independent reading levels, we differentiated independent reading. This was the big game changer because students practiced and applied what they learned during instructional time to independent reading. Students entered completed or abandoned books on a book log and used the log to discuss favorite authors, genres, or a specific book they couldn’t put down. Students recommending books to their peers through monthly small group discussions of their book log and by presenting monthly book talks was an ideal way to advertise great reads.

We monitored independent reading through book talks, written book reviews, peer conferences, podcasts, blog writing, and journal responses. No seventh grader completed a project for every independent reading book because when students read, read, read, it’s impossible to monitor every book. We accelerated reading achievement with a combination of the anchor text, instructional and independent reading, and believe that your students, like those in that seventh grade inclusion class, can develop a personal reading life that will sustain them at school and in their careers.

Come see Laura Robb co-present “Deep Reading & Deep Writing: Developing Literacy Skills Using Mentor Texts” with Ruth Culham at at IRA’s 59th Annual Conference, May 9-12, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Laura Robb is a literacy coach, Scholastic educational consultant and author. With over 43 years in the classroom Laura Robb is one of the nation’s leading experts on middle school reading. She leads workshops on reading and writing for elementary, middle, and high school.  She is the author of Unlocking Complex Texts, Scholastic, 2013 and XBOOKS™, a nonfiction language arts program for middle school students.  She has written 15 books for teachers including: Nonfiction Writing From the Inside Out: Lessons for Teaching All Elements of the Craft, Inspired by Conversations with Leading Authors; Teaching Reading in Middle School; Teaching Reading in Social Studies, Science, and Math; Grammar Strategies and Lessons That Strengthen Students' Writing.